Theresa May has attacked one of her predecessors – accusing Tony Blair of "undermining" the Brexit talks by calling for another referendum.

She called his comments an "insult to the office he once held" and said MPs could not "abdicate responsibility" to deliver Brexit by holding a new poll.

Mr Blair said MPs might back a new vote if "none of the other options work".

It comes after Labour MPs who support the idea met Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington to make their case.

About 10 MPs met Mr Lidington on Thursday to argue for another public vote and make it clear there was no other government plan they could support.

But many senior Labour figures are deeply uneasy about endorsing another referendum.

And the government is opposed to any further referendum, saying the public made a clear choice when they voted in 2016 to leave by a margin of 51.9% to 48.1%.

BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said Mrs May's criticism of Mr Blair was striking for its anger.

Mrs May said: "For Tony Blair to go to Brussels and seek to undermine our negotiations by advocating for a second referendum is an insult to the office he once held and the people he once served.

"We cannot, as he would, abdicate responsibility for this decision.

"Parliament has a democratic duty to deliver what the British people voted for."

She added that there were "too many people who want to subvert the process for their own political interests – rather than acting in the national interest".

MPs were due to vote on Mrs May's Brexit deal on Tuesday, but it was postponed when the prime minister admitted it would have been "rejected by a significant margin".

After postponing the vote in Parliament, Mrs May travelled to Brussels to make a special plea to EU leaders, in a bid to make her deal more acceptable to MPs.

However, the EU said there could be clarification but not renegotiation.

Many of Mrs May's MPs are concerned that the "backstop" – which is aimed at preventing a hard border in Northern Ireland – would keep the UK tied to EU rules and limit its ability to strike trade deals.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds has told the BBC a second referendum would not end the deadlock over Brexit but might simply extend the impasse.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he urged politicians to back the PM's plan, describing it as "balanced" and the "best of both worlds".

Mr Hinds accused some in Parliament of "wishful thinking" in believing they will get something closer to their own view by rejecting Mrs May's deal, adding: "There is really no reason to believe that's true."

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said the UK will "flourish and prosper" even if it leaves the EU with no deal.

"We've faced much bigger challenges in our history," he said.

"But we shouldn't pretend that there wouldn't be disruption, there wouldn't be risk, and there wouldn't be impact and that's why as a responsible government we have to make all the preparations necessary."

He also said he wanted a "crack" at succeeding Mrs May after the PM takes the country through "this challenging next few months".

His comments come after Mrs May made it clear she would step down before the next general election – due in 2022.

BBC

Nigeria's military has revoked its earlier decision to suspend activities of the UN children's agency Unicef in the north-east of the country.

The military said this came after "extensive deliberations" during emergency talks with Unicef officials.

Earlier on Friday, the army had accused the agency of spying for Islamist militants in the restive region.

Millions of people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east are dependent on humanitarian aid.

In a statement, the army said that it had lifted a three-month ban on Unicef's operations.

It said that during the meeting it urged "Unicef representatives to ensure they share information with relevant authorities whenever induction or training of new staff is being conducted".

The statement came just hours after the military had accused the UN agency of spying for Islamists.

"[Unicef staff] train and deploy spies who support the insurgents and their sympathisers," the army said.

These were "unwholesome practices that could further jeopardise the fight against terrorism and insurgency," it added.

This is not the first time the army has taken dramatic action against the UN agency.

In April, the military declared three Unicef workers persona non grata, following leaked allegations of sexual abuse by Nigerian soldiers. That decision was also swiftly reversed.

Nigeria's north-east has been devastated by a decade-long insurgency by Boko Haram and its splinter group Islamic State West Africa

More than 30,000 people have been killed and many more driven from their homes.

BBC